Legend of the Holy Sword
by Ryusama0
Summary: The Second War of Mana has come and gone, and the land is peaceful...until a new yet old enemy appears. Now Justin, a young man with amnesia, must learn the mystery behind his dark yet powerful magic in order to find the Sword of Mana.
1. Prologue

Mana  
  
The ultimate power. The great magic. The essence of the world. These things have been used to describe the raw energies of mana. Several mellenia ago, the Mana Goddess created the world, the people, the creatures. Using a part of her own essence, called mana, she brought life and order to the world. Her work done, she took the guise of a tree, the symbol for life, and created Pureland, a wonderous place filled with the unknown and a feeling of holiness.. To help the world and its inhabitants adapt, the power of Mana split into eight different beings known as the elements. Each element had it's appropriate lord, each lord governing it's own part of the whole of mana. A sentinent need only to ask an elemental lord for usages of it's powers, and it's wish would be granted.  
  
As the world continued, so did the accomplishments of two races. The Sprites, ever quick to find new usages of old things, used Mana to create wonderous things now lost to the world. They used its power to create. The humans, however, were different. As they lived on, they soon found how physically weak they were to other races. They became stronger, creating weapons and armor to help deal with this deficiency. Many turned towards Mana for help.  
  
Unfortunatly, it soon came to the attention of the humans that the Sprites were ever more powerful then they in Mana. Finally, in a spurt of jelousy, the humans created the Fortress of Mana, their final and greatest weapon. It was more then a weapon though; it was an abomination. The Goddess of Mana saw this and, in her anger, created the Beast of Mana. The creature, with all it's anger, attacked the fortress time and time again, only to be barely repelled each time. Finally, the Goddess of Mana, in hopes of ending the ruiness war, made from another part of her essence the Sword of Mana. After choosing a warrior from a tribe whose roots were deep in the first men, she gave him the sword to fight the evil. Each of the elements combined their powers and created seven other weapons to accompany the warrior, thus creating the eight Weapons of Mana. The Hero of Mana put both the Beast and the fortress to sleep beneath the sea, never to awaken again.  
  
Many, many years ago, the Second War of Mana rocked through the world. The Empire, a nation that had slowly been conquering all opposition, managed to raise a weapon used long ago: The Fortress of Mana. Using the powers of Mana, the fortress could destroy great cities with ease. The Mana Beast, created after the fortress by the Mana Goddess, re-awoke, and set about it's task once more: to destroy the fortress. The creature's rage overtook it, though, and it threatened not to destroy just the Fortress, but the world itself. However, as it happened long ago in the First War of Mana, a hero welding the Mana Sword and his companions slew the beast and destroyed the fortress so it could never be called forth again. The world settled into a peaceful time, and Mana and the Elements flourished into a golden age. Anarchy ruled once more, and the cities no longer needed their armies. But time flows like a river, and history repeats itself…  
  
Then the Dark Ring came. Suddenly overpowering and destroying the tower at Mandala, they built their massive fortress there. Their armies of monsters soon appeared around the world, attacking the cities, destroying many. Any traveler foolish enough to travel alone was quickly caught and killed. Mana swiftly became weaker and weaker, and those that could use its powers felt their own strength in it vanish. Dark ages had returned again. The people awaited the return of the Hero, the return of the Sword. They needed a savior. They needed hope… 


	2. Chapter one: Amnesia

Kersplash!  
  
The young man awoke in a small pond beneath a waterfall. His golden hair seemed to shine in the sunlight. He wore a yellow shirt and matching pants, and a black belt around his waist. His black shoes were immediately swamped and he felt the water well over his knees. He was soaking wet, having apparently lain in the water for some time. Standing up, he took in his surroundings. Above were two waterfalls, and a large tree log going across both gorges. As he gazed around he could tell he was in a relatively shallow spot, and that there were weren't any fish around. The only life around were large weeds taller then he was.  
  
As he waded towards the shore, he tried to remember where he was but to no avail. He could remember his name, Justin, and that he was a healer traveling the land, but he couldn't remember anything else. As he got up on high land, he immediately checked the area. All around him were the odd weeds, and as he approached one he saw small thorns covering it. Had he tried to walk through, he probably wouldn't have made it very far, and it would have been very painful.  
  
Justin frowned. There didn't seem to be any path or egress, but as he looked closer he saw a small trail that hadn't been used in a long time. Walking across it, he saw that the pond grew into another pond a ways away. As he walked towards it, he then noticed a small stone slab in the pond and a small bridge crossing a narrow part of it. Not wanting to get wet again, he walked across but soon found himself at a point where even more of the weeds grew, but this one of a different variety. While these tall weeds had no thorns, they grew so close together that it was al1 but impassible.  
  
Walking closer, he noticed that the area around the pond dipped in another area allowing passage without leaping in blindly. Justin shrugged and walked into the pond. Seeing a sudden glimmer of light, he walked towards it only to come up at the stone slab. As he stared at it he saw a small mark where a sword might have been stabbed in at one point.  
  
Justin frowned again. "I could have used that sword to cut through the plants," he murmured. However, as he approached the plants again, an idea came to his mind. "If I'm really a healer, I'd have some kind of equipment…" But as he looked at himself he found no pouches or bags for herbs and the like. "Must've dropped it over at the other pond," he murmured to himself again.  
  
Walking back to the other pond, he once again looked up at the bridge. Suddenly seeing a small form begin crossing it, he yelled out "Hello up there! Hey, could somebody give me a hand? I seem to be stuck down here!" The figure turned and looked down, then ran away. "Great. Just great. Now I scared whoever it was and they've gone to get help and kill me," Justin said, "Out of the frying pan, into the fire I suppose…"  
  
He suddenly spotted a small pouch floating gently in the water. Wading up to it, he examined the inside and was shocked to find nothing a small medallion tied to a necklace and an odd pair of gloves. The medallion had an odd resemblance to his face, but one side was black, and the other was white. The gloves, on the other hand, seemed to be a brown pair of gloves with a single rune etched on it Sighing, he took the pouch, medallion, and gloves, and slung the pouch across his shoulder and the medallion around his neck. Walking back to the tall, densely packed weeds, he said to himself, "If I could only make fire..." He was surprised to feel slight warmth emitting from the pouch.  
  
As he held up the pouch to examine it, he noticed odd figures on one side. There were eight in total, and all off them gave him a vague sense of déjà vu. One of the figures, a lizard like being covered in fire, had begun to glow. As he thought to himself what the significance of the figures could be, he noticed the blow becoming brighter as he neared the area where the sword had once been. He took the pouch of and placed it on the slab, and a blinding white light sparked. Blinking rapidly in hopes of quickly gaining his eyesight back, he saw himself staring at a ghostly person. It was about the same height as him, with the same golden hair but cut in a style that Justin had never seen before. He found it odd that the thing looked somewhat like him, then realized how much odder it was that he was staring at a ghost.  
  
After staring at him a while, the apparition lifted a single hand and placed it on Justin's shoulder. He said in halting tones, "You…must be…the one…the one…who…must…find…the sword…" With that the thing vanished.  
  
Justin, pondering what just happened, slowly backed away. The, snatching the pouch, he turned around, only to see the odd bushes out of the way and the path cleared. Deciding on reaching a town first then finding out what happened, he began walking on the trail. Right as h reached the trail, he found a large yellow lump lying on the road. As he neared, he found it was really some type of animal, with large eyes, a big mouth, and two small ears. Seeing it as friendly, Justin moved close as to pet it. Suddenly the thing puffed out its chest and open it's mouth, which had now become almost as big as the thing itself. Stumbling away, Justin realized it wasn't as cute as it had looked before. Closing its mouth, the thing leaped and started spinning so fast the ears became blurs. Justin tried hitting the thing, but only managed to cut himself as the ears hit him.  
  
As a last resort, he put on the gloves and swung at it. He hit the thing and, oddly enough, seemed to cause damage to it. The thing appeared to be momentarily dazed, and Justin hit it again, this time the gloves seemed to cut it though. As he hit it a second time, the thing popped like a balloon, and in its place was a small pile of coins.  
  
Pocketing the coins, Justin continued on the road towards what he hoped to be a town. 


	3. Potos Village

As he walked along the road he encountered several other creatures like the first one, and he collected more of the coins. At one point, he noticed a faded sign with the word "Potos" and pointing towards the direction he was heading on it. He followed the road, over a bridge at two points, and soon found himself at a town. "Hmmm, this must be Potos Village." He said to himself. However, something seemed to be wrong with the village. He noticed everyone gathered around a small garden. As he ran towards it, he noticed a large hole in the middle of it. Trying to push his way through the crowd without knocking anyone in, he got close enough to look inside. Inside was a small cavern, and he could see a small boy backing into the wall. Suddenly, he felt someone push him, and he found himself in the hole. It was then he noticed why the child was backing away from the front of the cavern. It was most likely the huge monster slowly walking towards them. The thing seemed a giant insect, walking on two legs and having two claw-like arms. Its bug eyes seemed to have some sort of intelligence in them, showing it wasn't just on a random attack spree. As he fell, another person leapt in after him. She had a lithe form, carried a sword, and looked like she knew what she was doing. She glared at him, blue eyes burning. "Who are you?" he said, focusing on him, "And why did you fall into here with the Mantis Ant?" Before Justin could answer, the creature caught his attention. It's pincers moved a couple times, and he heard a faint hissing coming from it. From beneath the ground four small gems suddenly burst from the ground and hovered in the air. Both him and the young woman looked at it for a while, slowly backing away. The gems started spinning, when the stopped and all four pointed at Justin. They flew towards him with great accuracy and all four punched into his side. Justin screamed and pitched to the ground, holding himself up with his hands. Right as he felt himself about to lose consciousness, he felt something else take control of his body. He lifted himself up off the floor and looked straight at the Mantis Ant. Instead of it, though, he saw two figures, one in blinding gold light, the other in a patch of darkness so thick he could barely see through it. Both lifted their hands towards him, then disappeared. He felt a sudden surge of power flow through him and, lifting both arms at the monster, released it. Two large black bolts flew out of his hands and hit the monster straight on. It screamed, convulsed once, then burst into an explosion of light. Unfortunately, Justin didn't know this; he had collapsed unconscious.  
  
He woke up some time afterwards. He looked around and spied an old woman standing nearby. He felt incredibly thirsty, and managed to croak out "w-water." The old woman, hearing him, brought a small jar filled with water. He greedily drank it up, and even though he could taste numerous minerals and the water was lukewarm, it was the best he had ever drunken. A young woman came in immediately after he had finished the water and walked up to him. Wearing an amulet with an odd figure on it, one he recognized from his pouch, she softly said something while making hand gestures. A cooling sensation went over him, like water flowing over him, but softly and gently. She opened her eyes, and he was amazed to find all his wounds healed. "Are you all right?" she asked "Yes, thank you. I'm fine. H-how did you do that?" he asked. She frowned at this question. "What do you mean 'how?' Surely you know of Undine's power?" she questioned. "Undine.sounds.familiar." Was all he could say, lost in his own thoughts. "Well, no, I haven't heard of this "Undine" or her powers, but then again I can't really remember anything right now." "Ah, a case of amnesia. Had Mana not been fading as it is, I might had been able to heal you as the followers of Undine had over 3 centuries ago but." she let the thought trail off. "Well, amnesia or not, what you did back there was very powerful, far beyond anything even the followers of Shade can do right now. However, the bolts you sent out were, well, black, and as such the townspeople are in favor of banishing you." "Why are you telling me this if you wish to banish me?" he asked. "Because you saved my son, and he's all I have left. I lost my husband to a goblin raid a few years back, and I've been living with my mother ever since." She said, her brown eyes beginning to tear as sad memories started coming back. "At any rate, the fact that you saved my son is the only thing keeping you here right now. Since you are a stranger, the townspeople believe that it was you that caused the creature to come forth." "And you?" he asked, "What do you believe?" She sighed. "I don't know what to believe. I know that the pouch you have signifies you as a user of Mana, yet all eight Elements are on it. And that is impossible, for only seven of the Primes should be on at one time." "My pouch!" He looked around, realizing he didn't have the gloves, pouch, or even the strange amulet. The woman only gave him an odd look. "It's at the elder's house, along with the gloves. You're amulet is over here." She continued to look at him oddly until finally saying, "so who are you anyways? I've answered your questions.why did you come from Potos from the old fields, what's the amulet for." Justin only sighed. "I don't know. I remember being somewhat of a healer, or at least an herbalist. I was traveling all over the world for some reason. My name is Justin. And.I'm afraid that's all. I woke up under a waterfall with the amulet, gloves, and pouch. I still don't know what any of them mean though." Again, the healer sighed. "Might as well introduce myself as well. I'm Kala Derring, the healer of this town. This," she said, pointing to her amulet, "is Undine, the Elemental Prime of Water. There are 8 elements, and a lord/lady for all of them." Suddenly she started blushing. "But I'm getting onto a different topic." Just then, another young woman ran into the door, which Justin recognized as the woman in the pit who had leapt down. "Kala, the mayor wishes to see you," she said, "you and.him." She quickly ran off again. Kala only grinned. "We'd best get going. Don't worry; I'm sure the mayor won't boot you out or anything. That hasn't been done since the Second Mana War, and even then it was only done once." Justin only warily smiled and got to his feet. The two then walked over to the mayor's house.  
  
As Justin and the healer reached the mayor's house, he was shocked to see how little people attended. Before he could ask the healer, though, she said, "Slowly our numbers are decreasing. With the goblin raids and lack of immigrants, we are slowly dying. They heard shouting as they reached the house, and Justin realized it was aimed at him. It seemed the population was divided in half-one half wanted him to stay; the other wanted him to leave. It became even louder as he walked in. "It's him!" cried out one, "The black servant of the Underworld!" "I saw him!" cried another, "he was about to turn on the boy had his own energy not consumed him!" "No," shouted another, "He killed the beast! He must be a chosen one of the elements!" An old man near the back of the room held out a hand, and slowly the people stopped arguing. Justin realized that mentioning the ghost would greatly make things worse, and decided not to even mention it until he had things worked out more. "You are the one the killed the Mantis Ant, yes?" he said, as more of a statement then a question. "Yes, I slew it. My name is Justin." "Then tell me this-how did you strike at it with such power? Even Kala or Gar'Dan can't do such a thing!" the mayor replied, motioning towards the healer and a young man stand next to him who scowled at Justin angrily. Justin could only recall him being one of those that wanted him to leave. "I, well, I don't really know." he replied softly. "Elder, I fear it gets more complicated," the young healer Kala stepped forward, "He appears to suffer from amnesia." "Well, then this must come to a stand still. If the lad cannot remember his past, then we cannot dismiss him so lightly, as he might indeed have been our friend." The mayor replied. "I conclude that we." "Wait!" the mage named Gar'Dan cut him off, "Show the weapon!" A young man, who looked strangely familiar, walked over and handed over the gloves. Gar'Dan inspected it for a while, when his eyes opened wide. "Elder! This.this.this can't be! This is one of the Weapons of Mana!" "Impossible!" the mayor said, immediately standing up, "The gloves has been in Pandora ever since the Fall of the Fortress!" "I can assure you, elder, that this is ended the legendary gloves! This confirms it-he must be from the Underworld to have stolen it from Pandora!" the mage shouted, not looking all too unhappy. "No, that proves he isn't, otherwise the weapon would burn him!" Kala cried back in response. "Stop this, all of you!" the mayor shouted out. Seeing the crowd ready to erupt again. When everyone quieted down, he continued, "Look, I have a solution for all of this! You cannot cure amnesia, correct?" he demanded Kala. She nodded in response. "And you, Gar'Dan, you say that this power he has is unlike anything you have ever seen or heard of?" the mage nodded. "In that case, I say that we send him to Luca. She would be able to cure him, being the High Priestess of Undine. Not only that, but she can tell us how he destroyed the creature." At that moment, a man dressed in armor ran in. "Sir, while we were searching the cavern, we found this!" he said, running to the mayor. He handed the elder the small orb Justin had seen before passing out. The mayor suddenly went white with shock. His eyes opened wide, and he gaped at the sight of the small sphere with a glove carved on it. "Gar'Dan, do-do you realize what this is?" he replied, handing the mage with a shaking hand. "It can't be! An orb of mana!" the mage said, also turning white at the sight of it. "That's impossible! That means that the sword is gone!" "Sword?" Justin asked, "There was a small shrine-like thing when I was walking over here from the falls, that looked like it would hold a sword, but it's gone." "The mayor appeared very scared by this. "Tell me, boy, did you by any chance encounter odd, yellow things on the way here?" "Why, yes, I did. Ones with large mouth and odd ears that they use while spinning?" "Rabites!" Kala cried in fear, "It's true then! The sword is gone!" "What sword!" Justin yelled out, totally confused. Everyone in the room turned to him. "You don't know about the Sword of Mana?" the mayor said in disgust. "Oh yes, that's right, you cant remember anything. Well, it's a long story, and I'm sure that you'll hear it or remember it at the Water Palace. Look, I can't lie and say I know what's happening, but I'm sure it has something to do with the Dark Ring." At this Justin became even more puzzled. "Look, Luca will tell you later," the elder answered his unasked question, "But I'm not about to send you out there without a guide or someone to help you." It was at that moment that two youths burst through the door. "Send us!" they both yelled out at once. Justin looked up and recognized both. The first was the girl in the pit; the one had told them that the mayor wanted them. The other, the young man who had brought the gloves, looked remarkably similar to the girl, then he realized that they were probably related. "Yes!" Eli cried out, "please Davis?" The mayor only sighed. "People, I have made my decision. The lad Justin shall go to the Water Temple, and I will choose who shall escort him. You may go now." He waved once and the people started leaving the room. "Wait!" Justin shouted, "What's going on here!" The elder looked at him. "Look, nobody has the power to heal you of your amnesia anymore. Mana, the life force of the world, has slowly been fading away, and as such the healers and mages have slowly lost their powers. Only those that have devoted their entire lives to Mana, cutting away all other contact with the world, will have the power to cure that. The Water Temple is nearby and is run by Sage Luca, an odd woman that doesn't seem to age due to her connection with Undine. She is one of those people." "Then.who's the escort you were talking about" Justin asked. Again, the mayor sighed. "Apparently these two wish to go. Allow me to introduce Eli and Matthew Sarious. They're parents died in a goblin raid, and I raised them. They are young and foolish, and as such want to take you to the water palace." At this, Matt spoke up. "There, I can learn to be a mage fully!" he said excitedly. The mayor glanced at Matt, then looked back at Justin. "That reminds me, let me tell you a bit about both. Eli here is a fine warrior, training to fight with the sword as many do. Matt here is skilled with his boomerang. Unfortunately for Matt, he has the potential to be a mage, but Gar'Dan has informed both him and myself that his magic is different; he is very strong, but he needs a direct connection to the elements themselves, much like the Sprites." "Ah," said Justin, "So he has to meet with-Undine, I think it is-to get his magic" "Exactly!" said Matthew. "Well, you'd best be off now." Said the mayor.  
  
The three of them were immidiatly attacked upon leaving the town by three rabites. Josh punched one, killing it instantly, while Eli slashed at another with her sword. Matthew and Eli killed the last, Matt stunning it with his boomerang, Eli stabbing it. As they traveled, more of the rabites attacked them. They soon reached the road split, and took a right turn. They soon found their way blocked, however, by a large dome of ice covering the area. The dome was very high and wide, and when looked through it they could see a building on the other side. Eli gave a gasp when she saw this and pointed to it. "Matthew, it's the Water Temple! Somehow this ice wall is preventing us from going in!" she said Matthew looked inside and pointed at something else, a group of 3 stones standing next to each other. "Calm down Eli," he rebuked, "Look, we can just go through the Haunted Forest! Once we reach Eileen's Castle we'll get the whip and keep going." Justin, on the other hand, had enough. "Will someone tell me what's going on here?" he shouted. "Ok, there is two ways into the Water Temple-this path and a path through the Haunted Forest. The Haunted Forest also has only two entrances and exits-one near Gaia'a Navel, and another here, at the Water Temple. Inside the Haunted Forest lies a castle belonging to the witch Eileen. She isn't really a bad witch, just misunderstood. After the Fall of the Fortress, the end of the Second War of Mana, one of the legendary weapons of Mana, the whip, suddenly appeared in Eileen's Castle. The whip has a magical property that allows people to safely cross large gaps. The path into the Water Temple from the Water Forest is one of those gaps. "Now, the only way to Gaia's Navel is through Pandora, a city south of here. We'll go there, and then walk northwest to the Haunted Forest and Gaia's Navel. Justin shook his head. It was starting to make a little sense, but he was still confused. Sighing, he walked with the other two towards Pandora. 


	4. Twisted

The three of them walked into Pandora, almost immediately noticing something was amiss. There were little people walking around, and even then those that wandered were unusually quiet for a busy city. "Excuse me," Justin said to a nearby soldier, "But.is something wrong?" The soldier only gave him a perplex look and continued walking away. Shrugging, Justin, Eli, Matthew continued. Soon, they reached an inn, and it was there that all three's fears were confirmed. The inn was totally empty. There wasn't a single patron nursing a mug of ale, or a drunkard boasting about some small thing. Instead, there was only the innkeeper, a tall, handsome woman who seemed upset about something. "Excuse me," Eli said this time, "But we'd like a room. However, I'd like to ask some questions first." The woman only stared at her for a while. "I'm.I'm sorry, yes, we have rooms open. What with the goblin attacks and such lately, there are few travelers, and business has been very slow. What is it you wanted to ask?" "Well, for starters, why is everyone so upset?" Matt asked. "Well." the woman began, unsure on how to respond, "There's been troubles lately, like in all villages. Just.all the attacks are disturbing the citizens, that's all. Now, a room for all three of you will be 5 gold each." Justin, unperturbed, handed over the gold. "Get the feeling she was hiding something?" he asked tensely. "You too?" Eli said, also tense. "Something's defiantly wrong here, I suggest we go see the king about all this. And Justin, hide that glove before we go in; no telling what trouble that can get us into!" Justin only nodded and put the glove into one of his pockets, hoping the bulge wouldn't stand out too much.  
  
When Justin entered the castle, his eyes immediately opened wide. He couldn't believe the wealth the castle must have had, what with the beautiful tapestries and such. As they finally entered the throne room itself, his eyes became wider. There, on the ground, was a large red carpet, with 8 different figures stitched on it. He looked at the figures, and realized they were the same figures on his small pouch. Eli noticed his open stare. "Don't you know? These are the eight elements! I can't believe you haven't seen any of this before. Amnesia or not, you must have lived in a pretty backwater place not to have known that." Justin only nodded dumbly, until they reached the throne itself. At this his jaw gaped. Behind the throne were a series of tapestries that seemed to be woven into one. In one section, he saw a picture of a single sword held upright. Next to it was a picture of a girl, and another person who. Justin blinked in amazement. It was the ghost! He could scarcely believe it. "Who.who IS that?!" he asked Matt, staring dumbly. Matt looked up. "Oh, that's Dyluck," he explained, "One of the hero's of the Second Mana War. His body was possessed by the dark lich Thanatos, but he managed to weaken himself enough to be killed. His sacrifice greatly weakened Thanatos, allowing him to be defeated." "Dyluck, eh." Was all Justin could say. "Yes, and those are the other heroes. The other lad there is Randi, the Mana Knight. You've heard of him, right? That odd looking creature is Popoie, a sprite. You won't be seeing one of those in your lifetime; since Mana's return, they've stayed hidden away in their forest, killing all trespassers. They aren't taking any more risks. And that last girl, she's the healer Purim. Legends say she married Randi and went with him on his last journey, to Pureland, but legends are legends, I suppose." Matt continued. Justin only continued to nod dumbly. Finally, they were brought before the king. "Outsiders," he said, giving a half smile. "Haven't had any of you since the Dark Ring became as powerful as they do. Is there anything you wish to ask us?" Before Eli or Matt could respond, Justin leapt in. "Your Majesty, I'd like to know why everyone is so.tense around here. It's just not normal. This is a big city and all, so why is everyone so silent? I mean, the inn is totally empty, and that's just not right!" A lithe man next to the king, dressed all in black, scowled. "That is concern only for Pandora, child." The man said, "and you would do well not to delve into it." The king only nodded. " Sheen is correct. This is not your business. Now, if there's nothing else, guards, escort them to the exit." 6 nearby guards grabbed the three of them and started to carry them away before they could even respond. "Wait!" Sheen said suddenly, "The arrogant lad, the one with the blonde hair. Bring him up here to me." The guards only nodded and complied, shoving Justin up to him. Sheen studied him for a while before speaking. "You have a dark aura around you boy. More then dark. It's black as void, and stretches like a shadow. But I also see a golden light about you. Both auras seem.familiar." Sheen shrugged. "No matter. The three of you, leave us at once." "Whatever." Eli said, annoyed. Matt only muttered under his breath, and Justin followed silently out of the castle.  
  
"That.was very odd" Justin said, "Do any of you know what that was all about?" "Probably that weird-o powers you've used" Eli responded. "Hey, lets just get back to the inn, see if we can find anything out there." When they made it back to the inn, there was a single man inside, seated at one of the stools. It seemed he hadn't noticed them come in. "I'm tellin' ya, Alice, yer man's gonna come back soon enough. Th' king just got a bit worried with the lights and all, there ain't any reason that something should still be crawling in those ruins afta' all this time." "So THAT'S it!" Justin murmured. "I've heard the stories, about how long ago those ruins were really a temple built to the Underworld, and how some evil creature used them to suck away souls. I say we go investigate." "Are you crazy?!" Matt said back, not quite as quiet. When the man and innkeeper both turned and looked at them, Matt only said "Forgot some things in our room. My friend here wants us to attempt going back to our village." The innkeeper only nodded sadly to herself, and the other man went back to his beer. "Look, we're here to get you to the water palace, and that's that. I'm hoping to meet with Undine and maybe learn some magic, but that's it!" "Wait," Eli said, "If we do find out what's going on in the ruins, we can get the king's good favor. This could help us get through the Haunted Forest!" Matt considered. "True," he finally said, "You have a strong point there. Oh fine, whatever. It's not like we can be defeated with one of the Mana Weapons, eh?"  
  
Justin shivered as they drew closer to the ruins. "Am I the only one that thinks it's awfully stupid of us to come here at NIGHT?!" He said. Matt slapped him on the back. "Shade, Justin, calm down! Speaking of Shade, he's an element too, so if it's night I guess he'll be the one watching over us. Besides, it's just old.old." Matt stopped talking as the chill run through all of them. Something very magical, and very evil was taking place inside. "I.I told you this was a bad idea! But no, we just have to come here and be the heroes, don't we?!" Matt said, irritated. "Some heroes we'll be, lying dead and unknown in some damned ruins." "Quiet you," Eli said, "This is bad enough without you jabbering. Now, lets just go in, find those soldiers, and get out." As they approached the doors, Justin suddenly stopped walking and closed his eyes. "Something is in there." He said nervously, "something powerful, evil, and very old. We can't go in.wait, no, we must go in. I don't know!" Eli looked at Justin with concern. "Hey, you alright?" "Yeah.yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this over with" he said, clenching his teeth.  
  
They hadn't taken two steps inside when things went wrong. As soon as all of them were inside, the door shut behind them and seemed to meld into the wall. As they all turned around in surprise, the door had completely vanished. Then the music began. Maybe once it was a beautiful symphony. Maybe kings had heard it once. Maybe the greatest organist who had ever lived wrote it. Not anymore. The music was twisted so that everything sounded off key, and it was loud enough to echo inside their ears, no matter how hard the clamped them. Turning around again to face the inside of the ruins, a sudden bright light erupted from every torch scone around. In the middle of the large room, a single figure floated above the ground. The figure seemed mauled and disfigured. Instead of arms, they could clearly see his bones, and they were colored a bright red and orange. His fingers were long, bony, and a pasty color. His legs and feet were identical to his arms. On his hand, instead of hair, his scalp twisted into three long ridges, and a single bell was attached to the ends of each of them, like a sickening jester's cap. Worst of all, he gave them a wide, open mouth smiled, and he had no teeth. Instead, a small snake slithered out of the bottom gums and into the top. "Hello, hello! Good evening to all of you! And what, might I ask, are you doing in my home?" he said. His voice was shrill and high pitched. "Why, I know! You're intruding. Nasty, mean little people. I should teach you a lesson!" The figure promptly vanished as the three stared open mouthed, and they heard growling around them. As they turned, they saw three "people" slowly making their way towards them. One had a third arm stitched to it's chest, and was holding a rusted axe in all three. The second one had only one leg, and had an arm in place of its other leg. The last one had a single eye in the middle of its forehead, and instead of hands had claws. "I take the three armed, Matt, you kill the one eyed, Justin, you take the other!" Eli said, charging at her monster with her sword. As soon as she said that, Matt threw his weighted boomerang at his, and it hit the creature's arm with a sickening *crunch* that echoed through the hall. Its left arm now hanging useless by its side, it continued to stagger towards him. He ran at the creature and rolled right past it, grabbing his boomerang. Before he could try throwing it again, however, the creature dug its claw right into Matt's side. Eli swung her sword at her choice, taking out its center arm. She ducked as it swung both of it's other axes right over her head, and brought the sword straight up to cut off it's right arm. As the monster swung its last axe at her, she blocked it with her own blade and, in the same move, removed its last arm. Still, the thing kept coming for her. Justin was having much more luck then the other two. As he hit the monster in the arm, the Mana Glove on his hand, the monster screeched and stumbled back. Swinging again, he delivered a fierce uppercut to the monster. The monster managed a single glare, then turned into dust, leaving only bones behind. Matt was slowly stepping backwards, holding his bleeding side. "Someone give me a hand!" he yelled, lacking the strength to throw his weapon hard enough to hurt the zombie. Justin replied with a kick to the creature's leg, sending it to the ground. A single punch to the face finished it off. Eli, meanwhile, had now gotten rid of her monsters legs. The evil thing looked up and mouthed at her, then turned into dust and bones. "What.were those things?" Matt asked, looking pale. "I'm not sure," Justin replied, "But I have an annoying feeling that we need to go farther into these ruins to find out." "Yes, yes, find out, find out!" the hideous person said, reappearing. "Go to the top, rescue your friends!" The creature winked at Justin. "You're here, you're here! This is good, very good! Master will be pleased. Wait, he already knows. Does he? Master is strong and sees much, mostly with you." It giggled an ear-hurting screech. "But of course he knows where you are! I'll be seeing you!" It winked again and vanished. "This is all just getting too much for me." Matt murmured, holding his head. "Let's just go to the end of these ruins, find those damned soldiers, and get out of here!"  
  
They finally reached the end of the ruins. They encountered no more of the monsters, and Justin had ripped off part of his tunic to wrap around Matt's side. When they reached the top, they noticed a large pit in the middle. Looking down, they saw something move. It was a human in a guard uniform! "Look down there!" Justin said, looking down, "But how are we supposed to get down there?" "Well, they're tied up with ropes," Eli said, "Whoever jumps down there can tie it all into one big rope and the rest of us can use it to lift them up. But who's going to do it?" "I got it" Matt said, jumping down into the pit. He quickly untied the first soldier, and noticed small runes burned into the rope. As soon as the rope left the soldier, he began stirring. "What.who are you?" he asked groggily. "'Name's Matt" he said, "Here, gimmie a hand. Untie these other fellows and tie all the ropes together, we're gonna use it to get you out. The two of them made quick time. As soon as a soldier was untied, he woke up. Although they were asked what happened, all the soldiers simply shook their head and replied that it was their duty to tell the king only. Soon, all the soldiers were awake, and the rope was ready. "Here, help me with this too," Matt told the first soldier he had woke up. "And hey, what's your name, anyways?" "I'm John," said the soldier, taking the rope and grimacing. "That music is starting to get to me. Hey, everyone above! Incoming!" He threw the rope up towards Eli and Justin. Eli grabbed it as it came, and she and Justin quickly began bringing the soldiers up, one at a time. The other soldiers helped by lifting the person who had the rope up. After a short amount of time, everyone was up, and they all quickly made their way to the castle.  
  
It was morning when they finally reached town limits, and Justin couldn't believe all the people that had lined up. He hadn't thought much of the fact that a few people gasped when they first came out, but apparently they went and told everyone they saw. As they passed the inn, he noticed John and the innkeeper looking at each other, and the innkeeper smiled for the first time he noticed. She glanced towards him and smiled wider, and he smiled back. "Let's go see the king again," Eli murmured, smiling, "and maybe this time he'll be a bit more polite. 


	5. Sheen

Justin proudly walked into the throne room, this time flanked by not just Eli and   
Matt, but John and an anonymous soldier as well. "We've returned, your majesty." John   
said, kneeling before the king and Sheen, "and they have also defeated the evil that was   
in the ruins."  
At this statement Justin fidgeted nervously. He had the glove stuffed in his   
pocket again, but that wasn't the problem. He wasn't sure if they HAD defeated the   
twisted being they had found; from all appearances, it had only vanished for a small time,   
and it HAD promised to come back after them.  
"Really..." Sheen said, staring at Justin intently. "Your aura didn't lie. Stephen,   
I wish to see this child alone. If his companions wish to join, let them."  
Eli gasped. "You, the king's servant, have the audacity to call him by his first   
name?" she said, starring open eyed at Sheen.  
"Hold on, hold on." King Stephen II said. "Officer Jonathon, what did you see at   
the ruins?"  
"I'm...not exactly sure, sir." John said, "Immediately after we had all entered, we   
blacked out. We all received the same vision, though, sir; we saw a dark cloud, growing   
from Mandala, cover the world. Then we woke up starring at this lad." He gestured   
towards Matt."  
"Very interesting." Said the king. "Child, Sheen is not my subject. Like you, he   
is a traveler. However, he pledged his service to me, saying the Goddess had guided him   
here for something. It appears he found what he was looking for in your friend, lass."  
The whole time, Sheen was simply starring at Justin. A slow trickle of fear began   
to fill his eyes. "Stephen, I must ask that there are no more delays. This is of the highest   
urgency! I must speak with him at ONCE inside your private chambers.  
The king glanced at Sheen, confusion and a bit of offense in his eyes, then sighed.   
"Your advice has never led me astray in all the time you've been with me, Sheen." He   
said. "However, I DO asks that you show me the slightest respect. We will talk when   
you're finished. The three of you, I will reward you later, make sure of that. John, go   
home to your wife and inn. I'm going to sit down and enjoy every minute of it." Saying   
that, he sighed and sat down in his throne, waving his hand to show that they should be   
off.  
"You are to come with me." Sheen hissed. "Let's be going, now!"  
Justin only nodded and followed mutely, Eli and Matt behind him.  
  
When Justin entered the private chambers, Sheen was already sitting on the king's   
bed, starring down at the floor. "Sit down, all of you. I wish to speak to your friend   
Justin, but it involves you two as well.  
The three of them sat down. "What's going on here?" Eli asked.  
Sheen sighed. "I'll ask questions here. You three are in a lot of trouble. Lad, I   
know you hold one of the Mana Weapons; don't ask how I know, simply acknowledge   
that I do know. It's the glove, too, no doubt. This means nothing good."  
Justin only gaped at him. "How did you-I mean, erm, what does this mean?   
Look, I don't even know HOW I got it, I just woke up with it!"  
"He's got amnesia," Eli said, looking with concern at Justin. "It appears he fell   
from the log bridges spanning Angel Falls near Potos. When he reached our town, he   
fought off a Mantis Ant by using some power nobody's ever seen before. We're bringing   
him to the Water Temple, and-"  
"That's enough, girl." Sheen said, holding up a hand. He stared at Justin some   
more. "So familiar...but it's impossible. He's dead. Been dead for so very long...tell   
me, what did you find in the ruins?"  
"Well," started Matt, "The door closed behind us and melted into the wall when   
we walked in. Then this twisted figure appeared, summoned some monsters, and then   
told us he'd see us again. We went into the ruins, found the soldiers bound by some   
magical ropes, and left."  
Matt then took a quick second to describe the figure to Sheen. If anything, Sheen   
looked even more distressed. "That was one of the Dark Ring. He goes by the name   
Twisted, and it's said even the Ring fears him to a degree." Sheen sighed. "It's all   
happening all over again...only this time there's no sword or hero to help us." He looked   
over at Justin. "Only more and more villains and evil..."  
"Hold on, what ARE you going on about?!" Eli demanded.  
"Your friend here-Justin, I believe?-has two auras to him. One is purely that of   
the elements; filled with justice, compassion, kindness, honor...you get the idea. The   
other is something from the Underworld. It's filled with murder, hate, and dark power   
incarnate. I'm not sure how he got these auras, but both of them are ever so familiar…"  
"Wait, how do you know all this? How do we know you're not just making it all   
up. I mean, this is all a bit..odd." said Matt. Justin just looked at Sheen and shivered.  
"Hold on Matt. So your saying all those times I've used that strange power...I've   
been possessed by some kind of evil spirit?"  
"Not just any evil spirit," Sheen said, "But a very, very powerful one. Now, you   
say you're heading for the Water Temple. If you don't mind, may I journey there with   
you? I, too, need to see Luca for something. Don't worry," he added, "I can defend   
myself with more then ease." He stood up. "I'm just about as confused as all of you   
right now...but let's go see the king one more time so he can give you your reward."  
The walked back into the throne room. "Stephen, I apologize for my early   
rudeness. I'm going to accompany these three to the Water Temple."  
King Stephen II gasped. "The-the Water Temple? Impossible, even for you   
Sheen! We both know it's been totally blocked off by Undine, to protect her and Luca   
from the Dark Ring."  
"Yes, well, there's another way." Sheen said, beginning to look worried again.   
"If we go through the Haunted Forest and grab the Mana Whip from Eileen, we can use it   
to go through the side entrance. Then we can see Luca. Speaking of Mana Weapons,   
friend, I have a request to make. While I've been here, I've never steered you wrong.   
King Stephen II, I honorably request that you loan-maybe even give-these three   
Pandora's other remaining Mana Weapon.  
The king only stared at Sheen. "You ask much of an old man..." he started, then   
stopped and stared at him again. "They have the glove, don't they? Don't answer, I can   
already tell they do. I don't want to know how they got it. I don't think it really matters.   
To have a Mana Weapon and weld it, they must be aligned with Mana. Sheen...I'll grant   
this request. The Mana Lance is in the treasure room. There's also some old armor from   
way back. It's old, but it's light and supple, and should be perfect for all of   
you."  
Sheen bowed. "Thank you, your majesty. You shall not regret this decision!"  
  
The four of them walked into the treasury. Inside, they immediately found the   
armor promised to them. "Wow!" Eli said, examining it, "Authentic, old-style Tasnican   
leather! This stuff goes beyond just rare; it's impossible to make now a days!"  
Sheen only smiled and walked into a corner. "You three get your new equipment   
on," he called, "I'm off to grab my own things."  
After getting on their new armor, Justin saw Sheen walk out wearing a mix of   
silver plate mail and blackish/purplish pants and tunic. Around his wild hair that   
matched his tunic and pants, he now had a single bandana. Lastly, he had two long   
swords at both side; one silvery, one black.  
Justin began holding his head. "Ouch, headache all of a sudden..." he also stared   
at Sheen. "You look...familiar, in a very strange way."  
Sheen only looked more disturbed then he had before. "Justin, you scare me. A   
lot. Let's go grab that spear now."  
The four of them walked to the end of the "treasury," now noting how little   
treasure was actually around. "I don't get it," Matt said, "I thought Pandora was a huge,   
wealthy city. I mean, it is the trading center."  
Sheen only shook his head. "the small villages deal with goblin raids, cities like   
this deal with mass attacks. Both are kept quiet, poor, and most importantly, hopeless."  
When they reached the end of the room, they found a single alter built to hold a   
pole arm. Resting on the two arches that came from the alter was a shining blue spear.   
Power seemed to radiate from it, and the entire section of that room was bathed in a blue   
light. Matt gasped and ran forward, touching its haft.  
"It's...beautiful..." he murmured.  
"That it is," Sheen said, staring at it. "Like all the Mana Weapons, it has   
enchantments that not only make the user an expert with the weapon, but it slowly   
strengthens the user and makes him more proficient in a much shorter time. With these   
weapons, three people were able to defeat the entire army of evil. And now it's yours."  
"M-mine?" Matt gasped.  
"Yeah, yours. Your boomerang is a rather poor weapon, no offense. You need   
something that can actually harm your enemy, and this Spear is the best thing there."  
Matt only continued starring at the spear for a little bit before finally picking it up.   
He gasped again once he held it. "I can feel the energies pulsing through it..." he said,   
starring at it again. "T-this is truly a weapon...!"  
Sheen only chuckled. "Like a small boy with a new toy..." he murmured to   
himself. "Well, let's get going." He said louder, "I want to reach Eileen's mansion   
before nightfall...that's when all the truly evil things come out in the Haunted Forrest.  
He walked out of the treasure room, the three following him. 


	6. Author's Randomness Section

Ok, decided to add an "Author's Comments" section, hope ya like it :p  
  
As it goes, this IS my first fic. I hope on finishing it eventually, and, if possible, I'll have each chapter out every two weeks. It's not easy, but it IS fun ;)  
  
Well, that pretty much wraps it up for now ;). Oh, and I'd like to give some props to both Kurai-chan and True-chan for beating me until I finished it. And for tying me to a chair that one time. Wouldn't have gotten off my lazy arse to do it without you ;)  
  
12/27/2002  
  
Yeah, I've started putting a date on this so I can feel extra special :p. Anyways, before you start hitting me with large blunt objects, I KNOW I said two weeks, and I KNOW it's been about.erm.4 months :p. I can explain! Life reared it's ever ugly head and lotsa stuff's been going on. And stuff. Oh, and I'm a lazy bum. But hey, for your viewing pleasure, I've got TWO, yes, TWO chapters up.  
  
Yeah, I know you love me.  
  
6/20/2003  
  
OH MY GOD. It's been.what.a YEAR since I started this thing? And it's been half a year since I updated this. But updated I have! And.wow, once more, I think I have, what, two fans ;)? Well True and Kurai, rejoice! I have actually returned!  
  
Now, writing style. Before now, it's been HORRIBLE. Big blocky paragraphs and the like. However, I've done some major updates to my computer, so things'll look MUCH better! PLUS, if I get the time, I'll be trying to change the past chapters so they look good as well. Rejoice once more!  
  
I'm not even going to pretend and put a date on when the next update will come. God knows it'll come when it does. But, hold your breath-I'm trying to keep my writing steady this summer. Nonetheless, I have another fanfic that I'm working on and my brain's doing it's usual "bombard Kyle with ideas so he can't write crap without anything else coming to mind" thing, so updates MAY be scarce.  
  
Nonetheless.hell, it's good to be back ;) 


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